Rhodium has been used in the construction of a prestigious award handed to the best young player of the Fifa World Cup, currently taking place in Germany.

The pgm was used to plate the trophy, which was handed to the 20-year-old German striker Lukas Podolski.

The trophy is made from a copper alloy, with ten per cent zinc. It is plated with nickel, rhodium and oxidized sterling silver.

State of the art techniques were used to design the award, which is 30 centimetres high and weighs 4.2 kilograms.

On accepting the trophy, Podolski, who has scored three goals in Germany's six matches so far, said it was a great honour.

"I would have liked to have taken home the World Cup - but this is a great honour and is a great motivation to become more successful," he said.

Other young players to be nominated for the prize were Spain's Cesc Fabregas, Lionel Messi of Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, Ecuador's Luis Valencia and Switzerland's Tranquilo Barnetta.

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